


How's It Gonna Be?

by MeteoraWrites



Series: The Trick To Being Happy [1]
Category: Fear the Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Amnesia, Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Injury Recovery, Love Confessions, M/M, Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Set after Sleigh Ride, Slow Build, Swearing, helpful Nick, like right after
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-20
Updated: 2017-11-04
Packaged: 2019-01-20 04:57:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 22,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12425475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeteoraWrites/pseuds/MeteoraWrites
Summary: Instead of fleeing the crumbling dam with Daniel, Nick goes back in to get Troy's body. Unsurprisingly it's right where he had to leave it after what his mom did. But is Troy really dead?Nick finds Troy alive, but just barely. Will he be able to get help? Or are his efforts all in vein?





	1. Suicide-proof

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first FTWD fic, thank's for checking it out and I hope you all enjoy it.

Nick looked away from the Zodiac as it was sucked into the opening of the destroyed dam beneath him, taking his mom, sister, and Strand with it. Daniel had a hand on his arm, drawing his attention away from the fast-moving water below. 

"We need to get out of here." He said, urging the younger man to follow him.

"You go without me, there's something I need to do." Nick said as he shrugged the older mans hand off of him.

Daniel watched as Nick took off running for the entrance of the dam. "What are you doing! You're going to get yourself killed, Nicholas!" He called after.

"Just go! I'm suicide-proof." Nick called back, the memory of the last time he said those words creeping into the back of his mind and making his stomach turn uncomfortably. 

He made his way back into the flooding Dam, finding it not to be totally destroyed. Before he knew it, he was back in the room that it happened in. The water wasn't every very high yet. He could see Troy's body right where he had to leave it not even 2 hours ago. 

The water was up to the middle of Troy's torso and climbing, only his upper chest, head and knees were uncovered. Nick slid down the side of the mound of dirt and stopped beside his friends body. Bracing himself he hooked his hands under Troy's arms. Much to his surprise Troy wasn't stiff and immovable like Nick had expected. 

No, Troy moved easily as Nick lifted and began to drag his fallen friend out of the flooding room. For a brief moment Nick even though he heard him groan. But that was impossible, his mom had bashed his brains in with a hammer. No, the grief of losing his friend was just messing with him, that had to be it. 

Half way to the doors that led back outside he heard it again, a faint, if slightly high pitched groan. He paused, laying Troy's body down gently on the floor before looking around for any signs of walkers. There were none and he cast a skeptical eye on the corpse before him.

Troy was dead, he had to be. There's no way he could be coming back as a walker... right? His mom bashed the side of his head in with a freaking hammer after all.

Hesitantly Nick knelt down and reached a hand out to check Troy's right eye. He remembered his friend saying that he believed it would take 87 minutes for him to turn. It had been at least that long, if not longer.. Could it be?

Nick nearly lost his balance and fell on his ass the second he pried Troy's eyelid open to reveal a perfect blue iris. And not just that, but a perfect blue iris that reacted to the light filtering in through the dirty windows of the hallway.

"Troy?" Nick asked, checking his friends other eye then his pulse. The older man gave no response but he did have a pulse, slow but steady. Nick even leaned down and put his ear to his chest to listen to the sound of his heart and breathing.

"Hold on, Troy." Nick said more to himself than to the unconscious man laid out before him. He managed to pull him up and over his shoulders in a fireman's carry, only losing his balance for a moment before taking off as quickly as he could towards the entrance of the dam.

He needed to find a car. Then, if the assholes that made him blow the dam really were all gone, he needed to find medical supplies, maybe someone that can help, because at the very least his friend had a fractured skull. Worst case scenario he has brain damage and won't live much longer. 

Fuck, he really wished they had never left the bazaar. He could have continued spending his days hunting for walker brains for El Matarife and his nights high with Troy. His mom and Alicia would have found a way out of things without him. But no, Troy had to figure out what was going on and insist they needed to warn his mom and the others.

Troy, of all people had wanted to help. And Nick couldn't deny him that after everything they had been through.

Once they were outside Nick found the place abandoned, everyone left alive was running from the crumbling remains of the dam. 

Their jeep was gone but there were several other vehicles left behind; the first one they came to was a van, the doors were unlocked and the keys were tucked in the visor. The back of the van had no seats and Nick was able to lay Troy out flat. He checked his pulse again then left him long enough to check the other vehicles; three trucks and another van. 

All of the vehicles had first aid kits, a few bottles of water and surprisingly some MRE's. He even found two fully loaded hand guns and a decent hunting knife. Nick quickly moved all of the supplies to the van Troy was in before opening one of the first aid kits and taking a look at his friends head.

"What am I gonna do with you?" He asked as he began to carefully clean the wound on the side of Troy's temple. 

Troy flinched as Nick poured rubbing alcohol over the wound, but otherwise didn't react as Nick carefully packed gauze over the nasty gash that was over a very obvious fracture. There was no visible brain, so Nick felt thankful for that at least. Maybe his mom hadn't hit Troy as hard as he thought.

"I can't take you back to the bazaar, any Proctors that survived will kill us on sight... I guess we could drive along the river until we find one of the colonies that've sprung up... see if there are any doctor's.." Nick mused as he spared a glance at his friend before climbing into the front seat and starting the van.

"Sorry, man, I know Mexican's freak you out, but they're a lot closer than the boarder is." He said, sparing a glance back in the rear-view mirror before fixing his eyes on the road ahead and taking off towards where he hoped he would find help.


	2. Comfort

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to note I do not speak Spanish, any Spanish used is either from my memory of taking classes like 16+ years ago, or from google translate.

Not long after he starts driving Nick beings to pass the few survivors from the dam that hadn't had the time or thought to grab a vehicle as they fled. First Daniel, who turned and looked him in the eyes as he drove past, then the few dam workers who escaped execution. He paid them no mind, ignored their calls for him to stop in the belief he is one of them, and keeps driving. 

Troy let out a small gasp of pain when the van went over a particularly bad bump, but otherwise remained silent on the drive. 

Nick wasn't sure how long he drove before he comes across people gathering water along the river. He stopped by a large group and rolls down his window, thankful that the van is unmarked and he abandoned that dam worker uniform he'd donned earlier in the day so no one will mistake him for one of the people who denied them water for so long.

"Oy!" He yells, getting the attention of a few people. "Um.. Necesito.. un medico, por favor? A Doctor?" He asks, hoping he isn't butchering the words too badly.

A young girl carrying a little plastic beach bucket full of water stops and blinks at him. 

A wizened old man with a red 5 gallon bucket points East of the river "That way." He says in rough English.

"Gracias!" Nick yells before turning and driving in the direction several people with buckets and jugs of water are headed.

He drives for maybe 20 minutes before he sees where everyone is headed. There's a large rocky outcropping sticking up out of the desert that's shielding a vast area from the sun. The shaded area is full of shanty's and huts. They all surround a clearing with a fairly old looking stone well, and there appear to be several burnt out husks of houses scattered throughout the area. It was a ghost town, but people have gathered in its place and it's alive again. Its almost poetic, given the nature of the end of the world.

Nick pulled up to the edge of the makeshift village and gets out of the van, looking around for anyone that can help. He spies a mixed group being led by a beautiful Mexican woman that's maybe 10 years older than him, walking in the direction of the river with buckets and jugs. He raises a hand and waves. "Hola! Necesito un Doctor? " He calls out.

"Your Spanish is terrible." The woman leading the group replies in perfect Americanized English. "You look fine, why do you need a doctor?" Her brown eyes look him up and down suspiciously as she sets down her jug and crosses her arms over her chest. 

She's tall, about an inch shorter than Nick, so maybe 5'10? Her long brown hair is tied back in a braid that comes to rest over her shoulders, and she has on well-worn jeans, work boots, and a soft looking yellow floral blouse covered in what looks like tiny daisies.

"My friend is hurt. We were attacked by the dam. He was hit in the head and he's been unconscious ever since." Nick explained, opening the sliding side door of the van to reveal Troy's prone form. 

The unknown woman runs over at the sight of the man in the van and immediately starts looking Troy over carefully. "Did he go unconscious right away, or did he pass out after a while?" She asked, turning Troy's head and opening his eyes so the sunlight shown in them.

"He was hit twice with a hammer and went down after the second blow. I thought he was dead." Nick said as he watched the woman check Troy's pupils, then his pulse, then she pressed her knuckles to his breastbone and twisted. Troy jerked at that and grunted but didn't wake.

"Who attacked him?" The woman asked as she carefully removed the bandage from the side to Troy's head and pulled a tiny flashlight from her pocket to better examine the wound.

"What does it matter? Just help him if you can, please?" Nick pleaded.

The woman stood up straight and leveled Nick with a stern look, putting her hands on her hips as she did so. "His skull is fractured. He's responding to external stimuli, so he's not brain dead. I don’t have access to any real equipment here, so I have no way of knowing if or when he will wake up. He may not, and you need to be ready for that. Am I understood?" She said firmly.

Nick nodded. "Yes, of course, just help him, please. I'll do anything you want." He found himself offering as he nodded away, hands wringing together anxiously.

At this point several people had gathered around to see what the fuss was about. Nick looked around at them quickly before looking back to the woman that was obviously the doctor he had been looking for. "What's your name?" He asked.

"Consuelo." She said, holding out a hand for Nick to shake "What are your names?" She asked as Nick took her hand.

"I'm Nick, my friend is Troy. Thank you, seriously." Nick said, shaking her hand quickly.

"You can thank me later, for now drive us over to my clinic. It's on the other side of the well." She said, pointing to a decent sized wood and metal structure that had a very obvious red cross painted on the front door.

Nick nodded and closed the side door of the van before hopping back behind the wheel and waiting for Consuelo to get in the passenger's side. Once she was in he made for her hut. 

They got Troy inside and laid out on a cot quickly and Consuelo set to work cleaning the wound on his head more thoroughly, then she carefully stitched him up before applying some kind of ointment that smelled strongly of herbs and bandaging his head. 

"Now we wait." Consuelo said as she washed the blood from her hands. "We need to monitor his temperature and breathing as well as check his reflexes every few hours to check for signs of brain death. Do you think you can handle that if I show you how?" She asked Nick, who was currently sat on a chair beside Troy's cot, his body hunched forwards with his elbows on his knees and his hands clasped in front of his face.

Nick looked up from Troy's prone form to make eye contact with Consuelo. "Yeah, I can do that." He said before looking back to his friend. "What kind of doctor were you, before all this?" 

"I was a trauma surgeon in the U.S. army." She said with a grin.

Nick snorted at that. "No offense, but what are you doing in the middle of the Mexican desert then?"

"My parents were from a town not too far from here. They moved back to Mexico after I joined the army. When the world started to burn I came out to look for them." Consuelo explained as she started to clean up and put way the supplies she had used to stitch and bandage Troy's head.

"Did you find them?" Nick asked, sitting up straight and turning to face the woman.

"No." She said sadly, shaking her head. "But I've been able to help a lot of people down here, so at least something good came of my being here." 

They fell into silence after that, the only real sounds coming from the soft shuffle of items as Consuelo continued to clean the table that housed all of her supplies, and the soft sound of Troy's breathing.

The silence was broken after a few minutes by a knock on the door. A moment later a young boy, maybe 14 years old with a buzzcut and a crooked smile stuck his head in through the door. "Consuelo, do you want me to go get you some water since you're busy with a patient?" The boy asked.

"If you don't mind? I need to stay here and monitor his vitals for a few hours." She said, continuing to clean up without looking at the boy.

Nick perked up at that. "I can drive you. There's enough room in the van for some barrels or whatever you guys have kicking around to carry water." he offered, looking from Consuelo to the boy.

The boy stepped fully into the doorway then, a look of surprise on his young face. "Really?"

"Are you sure?" Asked Consuelo, who had now stopped her cleaning to turn and face Nick.

"Yeah. Troy's stable at the moment, right?" He asked, when Consuelo nodded he continued. "So, let me do this. I have the van and enough gas to make a few trips."

After a pause Consuelo nodded again and looked to the boy in the doorway. "Jorge, will you show Nick where we keep the water barrels? Oh, and have Tomas help you both? It'll go easier with another adult helping to move things along." She instructed with a wave of her hand.

The boy, Jorge, nodded before motioning for Nick to follow him. "Come on, I'll show you."

With that the two were out and walking around the back of the building and towards another large structure. It was mostly made of metal siding and scrap wood, but it looked surprisingly sturdy. Inside was a makeshift mess hall with multiple barrels in the corner that looked more like the old metal water dispenser's sports teams used.

"Tomas! We have a ride to go get water!" Jorge called out into the empty room. A moment later a man came out from a small hidden away room in the back of the mess hall. He was in his mid-twenties, roughly 5'7 with broad shoulders and short cut brown hair and a scruffy beard. "Who's this?" He asked, pointing to Nick.

Jorge blinked at Nick, apparently having already forgotten the newcomers name.

"Nick." Nick said, holding his hand out for the older man to shake.

Tomas shook his hand easily, but eyed Nick like he was unsure of his presence. "What's this about a ride?" He finally asked as he let Nick's hand go.

"I have a van." Nick said, cutting Jorge off. "Consuelo is taking care of my friend, I figured taking some of your people to get water from the river was the least I could do after her helping me out."

Tomas snorted and crossed his arms. "There is no river anymore."

"Didn't you hear the explosion, Tomas?" Jorge cut in. "Someone blew up the dam!" He finished excitedly, practically bouncing on the spot as he threw his arms out wide for emphasis.

Tomas' eyebrows shot up at that, nearly disappearing under his bangs. "That's what that racket was?" 

Nick nodded. "A group called the Proctors went after the dam, there was a fight and most of the Proctors and dam workers were killed."

Tomas and Jorge both were looking at Nick with mixed expressions.

"Were you there?" Jorge asked in awe.

Nick nodded hesitantly. "My friend set the explosives. We were just there to get my mom out, but I ended up being the one to blow the dam when the time came..." Nice said slowly, gauging their reactions as he explained how he came to be there.

"Well then we owe you and your friend our thanks." Tomas said, clapping a hand on Nick's shoulder and offering the younger man a genuine smile. "We would all be dead in a few months if it weren't for what the two of you did this day. Now, come on, let's get these barrels loaded into your van and go get water for the people. You can tell us more about what happened on the way."

With that they loaded half a dozen barrels into the back of the van along with a few smaller buckets and they were off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I started writing this at work last night, and I asked my manager, who speaks some Spanish and went to Puerto Rico as an exchange student 20 odd years ago, for a Spanish name. She suggested Consuelo then told me it means comfort. I laughed and told her that was actually perfect because the character was a doctor. Mind you she had no idea what I was writing, she just knows I write fanfiction.


	3. Agua

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off I want to thank you all for the comments on the previous chapters. Knowing you all are enjoying the story so much really is motivating me to do my best to write a good story here.
> 
> Also I want to note that any medical crap is stuff I either got from watching ER and Grey's Anatomy and that I have no idea what I'm talking about.  
> Anyway I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Nick, Tomas and Jorge made 5 trips in total back and forth to collect water for the village. It turns out a number of people living there were American, and that they all fled south together when the government started to firebomb the cities. Most of them had family or friends here so there was no fighting or bad blood between residents.

When Nick got back to the little clinic he found that Troy had been hooked up to an old fashioned IV. The tubing and needle are new, but instead of a bag of fluids like you would find in a modern hospital, there was a metal and glass bottle the liquid was coming out of; a clamp on the tube restricting the flow out. He walked up, taking a closer look at the setup before turning to Consuelo, who was sat on another cot in the room, reading a book.

"What are you giving him?" He asked, giving the bottle a flick for emphasis and making it sway a little.

"Homemade saline solution with a dose of dissolved Oxy mixed in for the pain and dehydration." Consuelo explained as she closed her book and moved to stand. "There was a clinic here, back when the town was first build over a hundred years ago. I found some of their supplies in the rubble and did a bit of tinkering to make them usable again. The bottle was easy enough to sterilize and I have PH test kits along with some other odds and ends that allow me to check that the solution is correct." She further explained before stretching and setting her book on the table that housed her equipment.

"That’s pretty badass." Nick said with a smile, looking Troy over now to see if there were any signs of improvement in the few hours he was away. Honestly, he looked like crap. His face was swollen on the left side, a bruise forming under the edges of the bandage to creep out and wrap around his eye. But he was still breathing and that made Nick feel better.

"Thanks." She replied with a tired smile. "Have you eaten?"

"No, I figured I should get back to Troy, give you a break since you were kind enough to take care of him for me. Also, Tomas said to tell you dinner would be ready in 5 minutes." Nick offered, lifting his arms over his back in an attempt to stretch out some of the knots that formed from lugging water all afternoon.

Consuelo nodded her understanding. "Taking care of people is my job, but that's sweet of you. I'll send someone over with dinner for you in a bit. Sound good?"

Nick hummed and nodded, with that Consuelo was walking out of the clinic, the door closing behind here with a low creak.

With a sigh Nick sat down on the dusty floor beside Troy's cot, his back to the wall as he looked over the older man. He pulled his knees up to his chest and let his arms rest against them, hands coming up to run through his hair and rub at his face tiredly. 

Troy was breathing steady, the rise and fall of his chest visible now unlike when he was found this afternoon. His skin was a bit pale, but Nick figured that was normal, what with the blood loss and trauma he had been through.

After a beat Nick found himself raising a hand and placing it on Troy's shoulder. He could feel the warmth radiating off his body, the movement of his breathing as he let his fingers dig into the fabric of Troy's shirt. Both his presence here and the mere fact that he was alive and might survive this grounded Nick in a way he couldn't explain. 

Thinking back on it now, the whole day felt like some bizarre dream. If Nick had had any idea as to how this all would have gone down, honestly, he would have found a way to stay at the Bazaar. Found a reason for Troy to not go off wandering on his own while he was out collecting walker heads. 

Strand would have saved his mom and Alicia. No one else would have found out that Troy led the walkers to the ranch. The dam probably still would have blown and he wouldn’t be sitting here, praying that if his family is still alive that they don't find them. He knows deep down that if his mom did show up, found out that Troy lived and that Nick picked saving him over looking for her... She would undoubtedly snap and kill them both.

That thought made Nicks heart ache. He always knew there was something about his mother that was dark, it was evident in the times that she would snap and hit him, but the look she had in her eyes when she tried to kill Troy... The look she gave him when she argued that Troy needed to be put down. It scared him. Way more than he ever thought possible.

Nicks thoughts were interrupted by the door of the clinic creaking open. A moment later Jorge was walking in carrying two trays of food and two bottles of water. "Hey." He greeted, walking in and setting one tray and bottle down in the empty chair beside Nick. "How's your friend?"

Nick eyed the tray of what appeared to be a hunk of bread, grits, some kind of meat covered in a brown sauce, and.. "Is that cake?" Nick asked, picking up the tray and inspecting the contents up close.

Jorge took up the now empty seat and nodded, giving Nick a big smile. "Tres leches. My grandmother made it to celebrate the river coming back." he explained before picking up his fork and digging into the contents of his own tray.

"Cool. Thanks." Nick said, picking up his own fork and starting in on the grits first. 

After a few moments Jorge asked again. "So, how's your friend doing?"

Nick looked up from his meal to see Jorge looking Troy over, curiosity evident on his face. "I think he's doing alright. Consuelo said we need to keep monitoring him. It's a waiting game now."

Jorge nodded, his eyes not leaving Troy's face. "I hope he wakes up, the rest of the village wants to thank you both for opening up the dam."

Nick nearly choked on his grits. He coughed a few times before looking up at Jorge. "They all know? How?"

"Tomas made an announcement at the start of dinner so everyone would stop gossiping about the two new guys in the clinic." Jorge said with a shrug before letting his gaze drop from Troy back to his own dinner.

"Oh, is that all?" Nick said with a snort, poking at the mystery meat on his plate before finally stabbing a piece with his fork. 

"Nope." Jorge said, obviously missing the sarcasm. "Some of the old folks are calling you guys 'Portadores de Agua' and talking about what they can do to show our appreciation." He added with a loud laugh. "Like you guys are our own personal saints or something."

"I have no idea what you said there aside from 'of water'." Nick said, shaking his head before stuffing the mystery meat into his mouth. It was pork, and not half bad. "But I'll assume it's something flattering." He added around the mouthful of half chewed meat.

"Bringers of Water. They aren't very creative." Jorge said with a shrug.

Nick snorted at that. "Yeah, I'll say."

Nick fell asleep not long after dinner, Jorge was ranting about what it's been like living here in the two months since the world ended and he just dozed off somewhere in the middle of hearing how a few of Consuelo's army buddies came to Mexico with her because they didn't have families of their own to go back to. 

He woke up, head tilted to the right and resting on the corner of Troy's pillow, to find Consuelo wrapping a blanket around him. “Hey…” he said, straightening up and rubbing at his eyes a bit before pushing the blanket down around himself. “How long have I been out?” 

“A few hours. Your friend is doing well. He hasn’t developed a fever or any signs of infection or brain swelling. It's early, but it's looking like he might make it through this.” She said, turning away to grab a new IV bottle to replace the now empty one that hung above Troy's cot.

“That’s good. Right?” Nick asked, looking from the doctor to Troy. His color was a little better than before, and his breathing was still slow but steady.

“That’s very good considering the circumstances. He’s a strong kid.” She said reassuringly.

Nick snorted at that. “He’s not a kid, but yeah, he’s strong alright.” 

Consuelo looked both Nick and Troy over appraisingly, like they were a puzzle she was trying to figure out. “It’s late. If you want you're welcome to sleep on one of the other cots instead of on the floor. Have a good night, Nick.”

Nick watched as Consuelo shot him a wink after finishing fixing the new IV. She then picked up the lantern she had set on the floor in front of him, and left the clinic without another word.

Now that he was alone again he turned to look at Troy. Like this he could see why Consuelo thought Troy was a kid. Even with the slight beard he had going his face looked young. Almost innocent. Nick snorted a laugh at that thought. Troy was far from innocent. Not that he was one to talk.

After a moment he slowly pushed himself up off the floor, pulling the blanket with him. He slung it around his shoulders before grabbing hold of the empty cot to his left and pulling it over so there was just enough room between it and Troy’s cot to and move back and forth and easily stand. The chair Jorge had sat in at dinner was moved to the other side of the room so there was nothing between the two of them but air when Nick finally laid down.

At first he tried to lay on his back, count the dust mote floating in the low light provided by the one lamp in the room. It didn’t help him drift back off though, so he rolled onto his right side and watched Troy’s chest rise and fall in the low light until his eyes finally became too heavy to keep open any longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for continuing to follow along and I'll see you next chapter!


	4. An Unexpected Turn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I was going to wait until this evening to post this, but I couldn't wait to see what you all think! Hope you enjoy!

The next day Nick woke to Consuelo humming softly as she went about changing the dressing on Troy's head wound. After listening a moment he stretched and untangled himself from the blanket with a groan. "Morning." He said sleepily.

Consuelo looked over her shoulder at him and smiled softly. "Good morning. I brought you some breakfast." She said, nodding her head towards the table against the back wall where her medical supplies were kept. "Your friend is doing much better this morning."

Nick sat up and looked past Consuelo to Troy. "Yeah? How can you tell?"

"His heartbeat is stronger than it was last night for starters. And his color is returning. His reflexes are stronger too." Consuelo explained as Nick got up and retrieved his breakfast then returned to his cot, taking a seat so he was facing Troy and Consuelo.

"That's awesome. Do you think he'll wake up soon?" Nick asked before taking a bite of egg.

Consuelo shook her head. "I don't honestly know; head injuries are tricky. But the signs are good so we have every reason to hope."

Nick hummed and nodded his understanding, continuing to eat his breakfast.

"When you're done you're welcome to go get washed up. There's a makeshift bathhouse out behind the mess hall. Oh, and Tomas found some clothes that should fit you, they're in the chair by the door along with a towel and some soap. Just leave your dirty clothes and the towel in the bathhouse when you're done, someone will wash and bring them back later." She said, pointing to the aforementioned articles as she stood from beside Troy's cot and moved to take care of the soiled bandages.

"Thank you, I really appreciate all of this." Nick said between bites of eggs and grits.

"We're the ones who should be thanking you. We would have had to abandon this place in a few weeks if it weren't for you two blowing up the dam."

Nick shook his head. "If we hadn't then others would have." He insisted.

"That may be true, but the fact of the matter is that it was the two of you. Not only that but instead of sitting here and doing nothing while you wait for your friend to wake up you offered to help us. It would have taken us days to gather what you did yesterday. So, let us show our appreciation, alright?"

Nick nodded, ducking his head a bit. "Alright." He said simply before standing, placing his now empty plate on the end of his cot and retrieving the clothes he was offered. "I'll be quick." 

Consuelo huffed and waved a hand dismissively at him. "Take your time. Go for a walk or something after. I'll come find you if anything happens."

Nick nodded his agreement and with that he was out the door and making his way towards where the bath house was located.

It was still early, the sun just peeking out from behind the rocky cliff face that covered the village. It was actually a bit cold for the early hour, reminding Nick that it's actually fall now. It's easy to lose track of time when the world ends. Hell, if Jorge hadn't said it had only been two months since the dead came back he would have thought it had been longer. 

The bath house was a decent sized hut that was raised a few feet off the ground. Inside was a wood burning stove that held a massive metal bucket of warm water. On the floor was a smaller bucket and hanging on the wall was a series of buckets that connected to a jury-rigged shower head that had what looked like a butterfly valve welded on to control the water flow. There was also an antique claw-foot tub that looked like it had seen better days, a sink, a hamper for dirty towels, and a mirror.

Nick set his new clothes in a chair beside the stove before stripping down and filling the buckets that fed the shower. He quickly hopped in and used the bar of soap he was given to scrub away the dirt and sweat of the previous day. The warm water felt amazing on his skin and he wished he had more time to savor it before the buckets would run empty. 

Once he was clean and dressed again he decided to go for a walk like Consuelo suggested; see what kind of place this village really was. Sure he saw a decent chunk of it when he was helping deliver water to the residents yesterday, but he wanted to explore, see what they didn't let him see yesterday.

Truth be told, the place was pretty impressive considering what the people had to work with. There were the few dozen shanties, the mess hall, clinic, bath houses (apparently there were four of them scattered about along with several outhouses near the back of the village. 

There was an area that appeared to be a farm, and even more surprisingly there was actual food growing. Even with the lack of water they had to work with before they had been able to make food grow. There was a dilapidated barn that housed about a dozen chickens and some pigs. There were even a few cows grazing on the mostly dead grass nearby.

Nick wandered around for maybe an hour before making his way back to the clinic. A few buildings away he heard the sound of a vehicle in the distance coming to a stop, followed be the slam of two doors.

As he got closer he heard voices that made his steps falter. 

"I'm looking for my mom and brother? She's about my height, blonde hair with brown eyes. He's a few inches taller with scraggly brown hair and brown eyes." That was Alicia's voice

"Their names are Madison and Nick. They may have been in the company of an older Mexican gentleman with a particularly nasty wound to the face named Daniel?" And that was Strand.

Nick rounded the corner of the clinic to find them standing by the well with Tomas and a few other villagers. Behind them was one of the trucks Nick had raided at the dam yesterday.

Before anyone else could reply Alicia spotted Nick standing beside the clinic and was running to him. "Nick!" She cried, throwing herself at her brother.

Nick stumbled back a step with the force of his sister colliding with him. He wrapped his arms around her smaller frame and held her tightly, fearing she wasn't real for a moment. "I thought you were dead!" He said shakily, fighting the urge to cry from the relief that his little sister was safe.

"I thought you were dead! The last thing I saw before the boat was drawn away by the river was the bridge crumbling beneath you." She said into his shoulder, holding him just as tightly as he held her.

"It didn't." He said, kissing his sister's forehead before pulling away from her to look at Strand. "What happened to you guys after I blew the dam? Where's mom?"

Strand scratched at his beard as he watched the siblings. "Your mother had leaned over the side of the boat, she fell in as we were being swept into the falls. Once the water slowed we were able to go up and down the river in search of her, but there was no sign of her on any of our passes."

 Nick nodded then spoke again."How did you find this place? It's kind of far from the river." He asked, looking back and forth between Strand and Alicia.

"I met a few of the villagers on my way to the dam the first time. When we didn't find any sign of you or your mother it made sense to find the village and see if they found either of you while gathering water." Strand said, smiling as he explained.

"Well you found me." Nick said, finally letting go of his sister. "And you might not want to stay when I tell you who I'm here with..."

"What do you mean? Who are you with?" Alicia asked, looking around like she expected someone else to come out from behind the buildings that surrounded them.

"Troy. I'm here with Troy." Nick said, looking back and forth between Strand and Alicia, a hand coming up to scratch awkwardly at the back of his neck.

"But you told Proctor John that mom killed him." Alicia said, eyeing her brother incredulously.

"I thought she did. I went back for his body when everyone was running away from the dam, I couldn't just leave him down there to be washed away. When I pulled him out I realized he was still alive. He's got a fractured skull and he's unconscious, but he's alive."

Alicia hugged Nick again then, throwing him off a bit. "I'm glad." Is all she said before letting go and giving him a smile. 

"There should still be some food left, if you two would like breakfast." Tomas piped in, taking a step towards Nick and Alicia. 

"That’s mighty kind of you, given that we're total strangers." Strand said politely, tucking his hands in his pants pockets.

"Nick has been a great help to us, if you're with him then you're welcome here." Tomas replies, gesturing towards the mess hall. "Come on, before Jorge gives the leftovers to the livestock." He added, clapping his hands together and walking ahead to show the newcomers the way.

Both Strand and Alicia gave Nick a questioning look to which he just grinned and turned to follow the older man.

"So after you found Troy you came here? What about Daniel? I saw him standing with you on the bridge." Alicia asked as they walked side by side.

"He's out there somewhere, unless the last of the Proctors or a walker got him." Nick said with a shrug. I drove past him on the way here, but I didn't see him while I was helping the villagers collect water last night. I think he went off into the desert.  Either that or he crossed the river somewhere." Nick speculated, holding the door of the mess hall open for Alicia and Strand to follow Tomas inside.

Jorge was shuffling back and forth between the dining area and the back room, which, as it turns out, housed several wood burning stoves that were scavenged from the old burned out houses and a tub that they used to wash dishes in. 

"Jorge, we have more guests, is there anything left from breakfast?" Tomas asked the boy, who had stopped in the middle of carrying a stack of plates to gawk at the new comers.

"Yeah, out back." The kid said, eyeing Strand and Alicia.

"Jorge, this is my sister Alicia and our friend Strand. I told you about them yesterday, remember.?" Nick introduced.

Jorge blinked a in confusion then smiled that broad crooked smile. "Hi! It's nice to meet you!" He said, practically bouncing, the kid had a lot of energy. "Have a seat, I'll go get you guys some food!" With that the kid was gone, running out back with his stack of dishes clattering along the way.

Nick took a seat at a nearby table and was quickly joined by Tomas, Strand and Alicia.

"So," Tomas began. "Nick told me what happened at the dam." He gave Strand a particularly bland look.

Strand looked to Nick skeptically. "Is that so?"

Nick shrugged. "I didn't see the point in hiding anything from him. Besides, I thought you were all dead."

A moment later Jorge was walking out with two plates of eggs with some bread. "Sorry it's not hot anymore." He said as he set the plates down in front of Strand and Alicia. Both said their thanks and dug in like they hadn't seen food in a week. 

"We have a few empty shacks if you folks are planning on sticking around with Nick. We can get you set up after you eat. I just have to ask that you do what you can to help out while you're here." Tomas explained as he leaned back in his chair, watching Strand and Alicia carefully.

"What do you need help with?" Alicia asked, taking a slip of water when Jorge appeared with a glass for her.

"We have a small farm. If that's not to your liking we need help boiling water so it's safe to drink. There's also laundry duty, kitchen duty, and patrolling for the dead. Isaac, Tyler and Jeff are out doing a sweep now, but they should be back soon." 

Nick piped in then. "Those are Consuelo's army buddies, right?"

Tomas nodded "They are. The lot of them stole a Hummer from their unit's outpost when they came to look for Consuelo's parents. It's the only vehicle in the village that still works, so they use it to do a wide sweep of the area around the village three times a day."

"Fascinating." Strand said before taking a sip of water then clearing his throat. "Well, I'm not one for manual labor, but I suppose I could take a crack at it for now."

Nick raised a brow at that, Strand just raised his own in turn and smiled before going back to his breakfast. This was certainly not the turn of events he had been hoping for today, but he was happy with it nonetheless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm rewatching the series thus far to try and get a better handle of how everyone talks and acts. I'm on episode 8 of season 2 right now. There are so many things that I forgot about the first 2 seasons! Anyway I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I can't wait to see what you all think!


	5. Ruminate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to start today by saying I LOVE YOU ALL SO FREAKING MUCH!!!! Seriously. I've never had this kind of response to anything I've written and you guys are just so freaking sweet and kind and I love all of your comments. 
> 
> That aside, today's chapters is a little shorter than the last few, but it's just as good, I promise.

After breakfast Tomas took Alicia and Strand to show them around and to pick out their very own shacks to fix up and live in for the duration of their stay. Nick chose then to excuse himself. He wanted to go check on Troy and have some time to process that his sister is actually –glad- that Troy is alive. Troy, who is a big part of the reason her boyfriend died. The hell? 

Because let's face it, Troy was the one who led the herd to the ranch, and the one to warn them so Jake and Nick would come looking. The look on Alicia's face when they pulled her out of the pantry bunker was clear as day. She knew that losing Jake was somehow Troy's fault. 

In the end, Nick had been the one that couldn't let Jake pull the trigger though. He was the one who hit the older man with the butt of his gun and sent him falling down towards the herd of walkers. He was just as guilty there as Troy was. 

Nick shook his head, trying to end that train of thought as he entered the clinic and looked around. Consuelo was standing at her work table, mixing up what appeared to be another batch of saline solution. "Hey." Nick said before turning to go sit beside Troy. 

"Hey, any idea what all the ruckus going on early was?" She asked, not bothering to look up from her work. 

"My sister and our friend survived. They're here. Tomas is showing them around the village and helping them find a place to stay." 

"That's great!" Consuelo said, turning to acknowledge him at last with a big smile. A beat later she spoke again, smile dropping. "You don't look very happy for someone who just found out their family survived. Everything alright?" She asked, walking over and taking a seat beside Nick. 

He glanced over at her before looking back to Troy. He had been cleaned up, the dirt smudged on his face was gone and his dirty clothes replaced with a soft looking gray t-shirt and pair of dark navy sweatpants. "I'm happy. I'm just trying to wrap my mind around something my sister said. It's not that big a deal." He said dismissively, waving a hand before folding them and letting his chin rest on top. 

"Good something, or bad something?" She asked, leaning back a bit so she can better study Nick's expression. 

"Good, at least, I think it's good... She said she was glad when I told her Troy was alive. She's never exactly been a member of the Troy Otto fan club, too much bad shits gone down for that to ever happen... I can't figure out why she'd be glad he's alive." 

Consuelo smiled at that. "Sounds to me like your sister is just happy that you're safe and you didn't lose anyone else. In this world we're all each other's got now, because of that those bonds carry a lot more meaning than they did before." 

Nick closed his eyes and thought on her words. "I guess." He conceeded after a short silence. 

"Don't over think it, just be happy you have some of the people you care about back in your life." She said, patting Nick on the shoulder before standing and going back to her work. "I need to go take care of some of the older resident's. If you're planning on staying here I have some books in the cabinet that we scavenged, you're welcome to them." 

Nick hummed and nodded. "Alright, thanks." 

"No problem. I'll be back in an hour or two. More likely two if Mrs. Rodriguez is awake. That woman talks so much you'd think she didn't need to stop and breathe." Consuelo said with a laugh. 

"Have fun with that."  Nick said with a wave as he watched the doctor pick up a dusty army backpack and head out the door. 

Once they were alone Nick looked back to Troy. He looked peaceful, face relaxed in his unconscious state. He wished he could feel even half as at peace as Troy looked at this moment. To be completely honest, right now what he wanted more than that was to get high and escape everything weighing his mind down.  

He was starting to itch, starting to feel withdrawals even though it had only been one night of getting high after a long stretch of sobriety. He knew this was the worst time to be selfish and bust into the Oxy's that he had wrapped up in the pocket of his jacket. He needed to keep a clear head right now, needed to look after Troy.  

So with that in mind he got up and raided Consuelo's collection of books. A few books into the stack he found a copy of Catcher in the Rye; because the universe has a twisted sense of humor. He picked it up with a shake of his head and took up his previous spot on the floor beside Troy's cot. He pulled his knees up and let the book rest against them as he began to read. 

A few chapters in the door creaked open. Figuring Consuelo got done early he continued to read until a pair of legs stood before him that were definitely not belonging to the doctor.  

"Interesting choice of reading material." Strand commented as he took a seat on Nick's cot.  

"It was this or Twilight. Personally, I'll take the mental patient ranting about wanting to save children from growing up over abusive sparkly vampires and a girl with a damsel in distress complex any day." Nick quipped dryly, flipping the page as he spoke. 

Strand chucked softly at that before speaking again. "How is he?" 

Nick glanced up at Strand before closing his book and turning his gaze to Troy. "Good, all things considered. The doctor says he's showing signs of improvement. Hopefully he'll wake up soon." He said, crossing his arms over his knees and letting his chin rest on his bicep as he continued to stare. 

"And then what?" Strand asked. "When he wakes up, what do you plan to do?" 

"Honestly, I don't know... Whatever he wants, I guess..." Nick said, letting his mind wander to what kind of things Troy might want once he's well enough to travel. 

"Mmm... I know that look." Strand said, his tone almost warm. 

Nick turned his head to look up at the older man. "What look?" 

One corner of Strands mouth quirked up into a smile. "You're looking at him the way Tom would look at me. The look of a man in love." 

Nick snorted a laugh at that and shook his head. "I feel a lot of thing for Troy, but I wouldn't go so far as to say love was one of them." 

"Trust me, you're in love. A man doesn’t do the things you've done for another person if there isn't love there. Every other part of you knows it, your mind just hasn't caught on to what your heart is trying to say." Strand said, tapping the side of his head with two fingers before moving to stand. "You just ruminate on that a bit." With that he turned and left the clinic without another word. 

Nick stared at the door a long moment, mind reeling. Was he in love with Troy? Sure, he cared about him. They were friends. They cared about each other... But there was that moment in the herd outside of the Bazaar, when he had started to panic and Troy grabbed him. He thought he was going to cover his mouth, tell him to be quiet or to shut up even... But no... He Had pulled him into a hug and held him. Shushed him and whispered that it was going to be alright... And he had believed him... 

 _"You stayed at the ranch because you love me."_  

Those words rang through Nick's head loud and clear. When Troy said them in the truck the other day he had found himself smiling, but not denying it like he had first wanted to.  

Nick let his gaze slowly drift away from the door and back to Troy, his heart clenching as he took in the prone form of him. "Shit..." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *flails* I hope you enjoyed that! See you in the comments!


	6. Memoria

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sadly I won't be able to post another update for a few days. I'm training a new worker at the theater for the next two days and I won't have as much time to write as I usually would. Trust me, I need a lot of time to write with my dyslexia and such.  
> So, with that said I hope this chapter is good enough to hold you over until I can get more written!

Nick hadn't so much as moved a muscle when Alicia wandered in to the clinic almost an hour later. 

"There you are." She said when she spotted Nick in his space between the cots. "Everything alright? You look like you've seen a ghost." She asked as she stepped into the clinic and closed the door behind her.

"I think I'm in love with Troy." Nick blurted, looking up at his sister with wide eyes.

"Yeah," Alicia said slowly "I thought you figured that out a while ago..." After pausing a moment, she came to sit on the empty cot beside Nick.

"Yeah, not really something that ever crossed my mind as a possibility before now." Nick said, letting his head drop so his forehead rested on his crossed arms.

"Well, if it helps, he's in love with you too." Alicia said ducking her head down to try and look at Nick's face where he had it buried in his arms. 

Nick snorted, lifting his head enough to make eye contact with his sister. "What makes you so sure of that?"

"The major case of heart-eyes he gets when you're not looking for starters. After you joined the Militia he looked at you differently. You looked at him differently too. And after the shoot-out and everything went down I figured you had to know. I mean, why else would you do everything you've done for him?" Alicia explained, looking to Troy now and reaching out to gently brush his bangs away from his forehead.

Nick watched her, his eyes drifting to the ugly heart shaped tattoo on her arm. "What if you're wrong." He muttered.

"I'm not. You may be older, but I have more experience with love then you do." She said simply before patting her brother on the shoulder. "It's going to be alright, Nick. He'll wake up and the two of you can figure this out together."

With a sigh Nick twisted so his back was to his cot now. He let himself lean to the side a bit, his head coming to rest on his sister's knee. "I hope so."

"I know so." She said softly. 

"Hey, how come you're being so nice anyway? I thought for sure you'd be next in line on the "Kill Troy Otto" list, especially given everything that's happened over the last few days?" Nick asked, keeping his head against his sister's knee. He wanted to look up at her, but a small part of him was afraid of what he would see in her face if he did. After all, they both knew Troy was at least partially responsible for Jake dying, but only he knew that it was his fault as well.

"I did want him dead for a while. But as much as I wanted that, I don't want to lose you." 

Nick finally looked up at her when she said that. Her expression was sad as she looked down at her big brother.

"Seeing you on the bridge of the dam like that... The way you had given up... I don't ever want to see you like that again, Nick. If his being alive is what keeps you here, then I'm okay with it." She explained, bringing a hand to run through her brother's hair as she spoke.

The two of them sat like that for a few minutes. Alicia stroking Nick's hair and Nick sitting with his head against her knee as he continued to think over his sister's words. Both watching over Troy in silence.

"Strand and I are going to take a group to check out the dam in a bit, see what we can scavenge. You wanna come with us? Get out for a while?" She asked.

Nick shook his head, picking it back up as he did so. "No. I want to stay here. Consuelo isn't back yet and I don't want him to wake up alone."

"Alright. I'll be back in a few hours." Alicia said before standing and walking towards the door.

"Be careful." Nick called after her.

"I will." She promised before walking out the door.

With a heavy sign Nick picked up his abandoned book from the floor and began to read again. It wasn't even noon yet and he felt like he'd lived a lifetime in this one morning.

Eventually Consuelo came back, giving Nick a wave in greeting before going back to working with different herbs and odds and ends on her table of medical wonders. She worked until lunch time, leaving and returning with bowls of soup for the both of them. After they ate Nick went back to reading and Consuelo went back to working at her table.

Nick almost missed it at first. 

The slight change in Troy's breathing. The soft creak of the cot as it shifted minutely under him. Nick looked up to see Troy's left hand lifting off the bed and coming to touch at the bandage on his head slowly.

"Consuelo!" He practically shouted, scrambling to get to his knees beside his friend. "Troy! Hey, Troy!" Nick said, grabbing hold of Troy's wrist and hand, keeping him from prodding at the bandaged wound on his temple. Troy let out a groan of protest at the sudden noise beside him, but didn't open his eyes.

In a flash Consuelo was at Troy's other side, her little flashlight in hand as she knelt to look at the disoriented man. "Troy, can you hear me." She asked, putting a hand on his shoulder when he moved like he was going to try and sit up.

After a moment Troy's eyes finally fluttered opened and he looked first to his left. He blinked at Nick a few times, then turned to the woman holding him down. "Yeah, I hear you..." He rasped. "What's going on... Why does my head hurt?"

"Troy, my name is Consuelo Rosa. I'm a U.S. Army Doctor. You suffered a blow to the head which fractured your skull and you've been unconscious for about a day. Do you think you can answer a couple questions for me?" She asked slowly, first checking his ears with her little flashlight.

Troy gave a small nod and she continued. "Can you tell me your full name, age, date of birth and the last thing you remember?" Consuelo asked as she shined her little light in Troy's eyes now to check the response of his pupils.

Troy winced at the light, then spoke after looking to Nick, who nodded that it was okay. "My name is Troy Samuel Otto, I'm 22, my birthday is August 24th of 1988." He said, swallowing thickly before continuing. "The, uh... the last thing I remember is driving with Nick to the dam..." He trailed off, face scrunching up in confusion as he tried to remember more. 

"You don't remember being attacked?" She asked, finally helping Troy to sit up with Nicks help.

"No... I... Uh... I remember pulling up to the dam, and that’s it..." Troy said, looking around the room slowly, taking in his surroundings.

"Is that bad? Not remember what happened is bad, right?" Nick asked Consuelo, who had produced a stethoscope from under the little table beside Troy' cot and was listening to Troy's heart now.

"Retrograde amnesia is common after head trauma. He should remember eventually. The important thing now is to take it easy. That means at least a few days of bed rest before trying to do anything bigger than taking a walk across the room." She said as she removed the stethoscope from her ears and turned to grab a glass of water for Troy.

The blonde took the offered glass with his free hand, taking a few small sips before downing the rest of the contents greedily.

Nick nodded along with Consuelo's instructions, finally releasing his hold on Troy's hand when the other man looked down and wiggled his fingers a little in Nick's grasp. Nick looked down at their hands as he let go, when he looked up Troy just blinked at him owlishly. "I'll make sure he doesn't push himself too hard." He promised.

"Troy, if I go get you some food do you think you'll be able to keep it down?" Consuelo asked, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder to draw his attention away from Nick.

"Yeah." He said, looking away from the doctor and back to Nick again.

"Alright, I'll go see if there's any soup left from lunch." With that she turned and left the two alone.

Nick cleared his throat awkwardly once the doctor was gone. "So, you really don't remember what happened after we got to the dam?" He asked almost sheepishly, wondering if maybe Troy lied because he didn't trust Consuelo.

A small frown formed on Troy's face. "I remember pulling up to the dam and getting out of the truck... Then waking up just now. What the heck happened, Nick. Where is everyone?"

"Alicia and Strand are here. Strand sold the dam out to the Proctors. Everything went sideways when we were trying to escape and I had to blow up the dam to give everyone else a chance to get away." He said, dancing around subject of his mom.

"What about Madison? Where's she?" Troy asked, blue eyes searching over Nick's face as he spoke.

"I don't know. Strand said she fell out of the boat when they were trying to escape. They searched for her but there wasn’t any sign she made it out alive." Nick said, letting his gaze drop to where his hands were resting on the edge of Troy's cot.

"Okay, well, now that I'm awake you can go look for her." Troy said with a small nod before wincing and bringing a hand up to touch the bandage next to his eye. "Okay, seriously, what hit me? Please tell me you killed whoever did this because it fucking hurts."

Nick blinked up at Troy, not sure how to answer.

"Come on, Nicky, just tell me." He said with a soft laugh. "It can't have been that bad."

"It was my mom, she hit you with a hammer." Nick said bluntly.

"What? Why?" Troy asked, eyes going wide with shock. His face almost perfectly mirroring the look he gave Madison when she landed the first blow to the side of his head.

"She just snapped, man! The two of you had gone off to set up the explosives as a last resort and Daniel cornered me and tried to get me to blame you for Ofelia's death. When he let me go I went to tell you and my mom that we had to get out and when she asked why we had to avoid Daniel she found out what happened with the horde and she just snapped! She blamed you for everything that happened with Travis and me and Alicia and she just lost it. She hit you, and you fell to your knees and you just... You gave her this look, like the look you're giving me right now, like you couldn't believe what she had done." Nick crumbled under the look Troy was giving him, he continued to ramble, his voice growing shaky as he continued on.

"I moved to try and stop her, but she just swung and hit you again before I could take another step and you fell. You fell and I thought you were dead." Nick's eyes went unfocused as he remembered what happened. He let his gaze drop to his hands again as he went on.

"The next thing I knew we were in a room together hiding from the Proctors while Strand tried to find a way for us to get out. She... She tried to justify killing you... And I just couldn't... You didn't deserve that... I asked her where it stops and she said I was lucky to be alive to ask. Like -you- could have killed me or something. She tried to say she wouldn't do the same to me, that she never wished I was dead, but the look in her eyes... she was lying, Troy... So when I got the chance I stole the detonator and I made the Proctors let her and Alicia and Strand go and I blew the dam." Nick looked up from his hands to find Troy still looking at him, but his expression had shifted to something Nick couldn't read. The next thing he knew Troy was wrapping his arms around him and pulling him into a hug, just like that night with the herd of walkers outside of the Bazaar.

"What happened after you blew the dam..." Troy asked, voice soft beside Nick's ear.

Nick blinked a few times, trying to figure out how Troy could be so calm right now. Slowly, he let his arms come up and wrap around Troy's middle as he spoke. "Their boat got sucked away by the water and... After everyone was gone I went back for you... I couldn't leave you in the rubble to be washed away by the river. Not after what she did... Halfway out of the dam I realized you were still alive, so I took one of the unmarked vans from the dam and here we are..."

Troy huffed a small laugh at that. "I knew you loved me." He said, voice warm and sure.

Nick tightened his arms around Troy, letting his face tuck in against the slightly older man's neck before he spoke again. "Yeah, well, you love me too. So I guess we're stuck with each other." He said just loud enough for Troy to hear. 

Troy smiled into Nick's shoulder at those words. "Yeah, I guess we are."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After writing that last line I proceeded to spaz out a bit then tell my best friend I think I just gave myself diabetes because of how fucking sweet the end of the chapter is. I hope you all love it as much as I loved writing it.


	7. Choices

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, I wasn't going to post this chapter for a few days, but I figured why not now. I'm having a bit of a depressive episode and haven't written as much as I wanted, but I didn't want to leave you all hanging. I hope you enjoy and I should have chapter 8 ready on Monday.

Eventually Consuelo returned with a bowl of soup. Nick and Troy were no longer hugging when she found them, though Troy had scooted over on the small cot to make room for Nick to sit beside him as he read from his book. Troy had his head tipped back against the wall, eyes closed as he said his head was killing him and the light made it hurt worse.

"Everything alright?" Consuelo asked as she came over and placed the tray she had used to carry the bowl of soup gently on Troy's lap.

Try opened his eyes and gave the doctor a small smile. "Head just hurts." He said before looking down at the food before him and picking up the spoon to stir the contents of the bowl a bit.

"Your IV has something in it for the pain, but I can give you something else now that you're awake. On a scale of 1 to 10 how bad would you say it is?" Consuelo asked, turning to go dig through the basket of pill bottles that sat on the corner of her work table.

"Um.. A 5 I guess.. Maybe a 6..." Troy said with a shrug before taste testing a spoonful of soup. 

"Alright. Think you can swallow a pill?" Consuelo asked, coming back holding a single small white pill and a cup of water.

Troy eyed the pill suspiciously before looking to Nick. "What is it?" He asked, looking back to Consuelo and taking it along with the water.

"Percocet. Oxycodone. It's what's in your IV, just a more concentrated dose. It should kick in in about 15 minutes or so and you'll probably feel drowsy after that." She explained, looking back and forth between Nick and Troy like she was trying to figure out why Troy looked at Nick before taking the pill.

Nick gently bumped Troy's shoulder with his own. "It's okay. Taking it when you're hurt is different." Nick assured him. "You might get a little loopy but that's it. I'll be here the whole time if you're worried."

Consuelo just raised a brow at them both. "Is there something I should know?"

"I sort of persuaded Troy to get high on Oxy's with me a few days ago at a place called the Bazaar. He didn't really enjoy it." Nick explained, giving Troy a sympathetic look.

"Troy, would you rather take something weaker? I have some prescription strength Tylenol. It'll still make you a bit tired but it's much weaker. At the very least it should help take the edge off what you're feeling." Consuelo explained, holding her hand out for Troy to give back to pill if he wanted to.

Troy blinked up at her. "No, this is fine. Thank you, ma'am." He said before popping the pill in his mouth and taking it with the whole glass of water. When he was finished he handed back the cup and went back to eating his soup.

"You're welcome. Let me know if you don't feel any better after a while, or if you start to feel worse, alright?" She asked, setting the cup on the small table beside Troy's cot.

Troy nodded his understanding and continued to eat.

"Nick, can I speak to you outside please?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest. 

"Uh, yeah, sure." He said, setting his book down and moving to stand and follow her out of the clinic. 

Consuelo held the door open, letting Nick out ahead of her. Once they were outside she turned, giving him a stern look as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Do I need to worry about you stealing from the clinic? Because we have a limited supply of medicines, and while I'm more than willing to give them to Troy while he recovers, I will kick you out of my clinic in a heartbeat if I have to."

"What! No, I won't touch your drugs." He said, taking a half step back and throwing his hands up in surrender. "I admit I'm a junkie, but we're good. I'm not going to risk messing with Troy's recovery just to get a fix. I swear. He means more to me than that."

Consuelo looked him up and down, trying to gauge if his words held any value. "I know exactly what I have for pills. I so much as find a bottle out of place and you're out of the clinic. Understood?"

Nick nodded his head rapidly. "Understood. I won't mess with your supplies. I promise."

"Alright." She said with a quick nod. "I'm going to go tell Tomas and the others that Troy is awake. Maybe see if anyone would like to volunteer to fix up one of the empty shacks for when he's well enough to move out of the clinic."

"You don't have to. I can do that." Nick said stuffing his hands in his pants pockets and kicking at the ground a bit with one foot. "I know everyone is grateful to us for blowing the dam, but really, you don't have to do everything for us. Let me do something to help."

Consuelo just shook her head at him, letting her arms fall to her sides again. "Tend to your boyfriend, Nick. At least for now, let us take care of the rest." She said, raising one eyebrow as if daring him to challenge her.

Nick just blinked at her, his head tilting a little to the side. "Fine. But I will find a way to help out around here once he's better."

Consuelo laughed softly and turned to walk away. "Fine."

With a sigh Nick turned and walked back into the clinic.

"So, I'm your boyfriend now, am I?" Troy asked once Nick was back inside. His tone questioning but amused. His bowl of soup was empty and he was squinting at the summary on the back of the copy of Catcher in the Rye that Nick had been reading.

"If that's what you want..." Nick said slowly with a shrug. "I'll understand if you don't want to be, though." He continued as he walked in and came around to sit on the empty cot beside Troy's.

"I'm not so easy to get rid of, Nicky. Thought you knew that by now." Troy said mirthfully as he tossed the book at Nick, who caught it after it bounced off his chest.

"Yeah, well, If I'm honest I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around all of this still."

"What part are you having trouble locking down?" Troy asked, slouching down in his cot a bit.

"You're in love with me."

Troy snorted at that. "Yeah. And?"

"And, you never really struck me as someone who swung that way." Nick retorted.

"You never struck me as someone who would stand up to his mother. Looks like we're both full of surprises." Troy countered with a slightly dopey smile that made Nick think the Oxy was starting to hit him.

"Ouch, man. I've stood up to my mom plenty of times." Nick defended halfheartedly.

"Maybe, but not when its carried so much weight." Troy said with a little shrug.

"You're being far too analytical for someone who just woke up from of a coma." Nick said after a beat.

Troy full on chuckled at that, sliding down the rest of the way into the cot so his head rested on his pillow. "I had a speech prepared." He said wistfully.

"A speech? Really?" Nick asked leaning forward so his elbows rested on his knees. Troy was definitely being hit by the Oxy. A bit fast, but given he hadn't eaten in over a day that shouldn't have been a surprise.

"Yeah." Troy said as he smiled up at Nick again, his blue eyes sparkling a little. "I was going to tell your mom that I got right with everything that happened since you all came to the ranch. I was gonna ask if we were good, and I was gonna tell her I thought of you all as my family. You think I told her?" Troy mused.

"I don't know. You guys were alone for a while, I guess it's possible." Nick said as he reached over and pulled the blanket out from under Troy's legs and started to pull it up over him.

"I hope I did." Troy said as his eyes slipped closed. "Hope I told her I loved you, too..."

"Get some sleep, Troy, you're rambling." Nick said, failing to keep the fondness out of his voice as he tucked the older man in.

"M'not tired. Tell me something?" Troy said, voice making the lie of not being tired obvious.

"What do you want to know?" Nick asked as he sat back on the edge of his own cot.

"Why me?" Troy asked, voice small.

"What do you mean?"

"Why'd you pick me over Madison?"

Nick blinked down at Troy, not sure how to answer at first. "I'm not going to go back to someone who claims they love me but would have no problem killing me..." He said after a slight pause.

Troy snorted as he wiggled around under the thin blanket in an attempt to get more comfortable. "I could kill you."

"I think your little speech would suggest otherwise." Nick retorted.

"True.. But still.." Troy opened his eyes again to look over at Nick.

"No 'buts'. She may be my mother, but she lost my trust. I can't go back to her after everything that's happened. Besides, she probably didn't survive being tossed around by the river." He said as he stood to walk around and push his cot right up beside Troy's.

"I bet she didn't... Damn white witch of the apocalypse..." Troy mumbled as he watched Nick move about from under heavy eyelids. 

Nick paused a moment, hands in the middle of fixing his pillow so he would be more comfortable when he sits back down. "What?"

"She has a way of getting what she wants... Makin' people do things they normally wouldn't... She's the white witch of the apocalypse..." Troy explained with a sleepy shrug, letting his eyes slip closed again. "She even fooled me..."

With a sigh Nick sat down on his cot and picked up his unfinished book, opening it back up to where he had dogeared the page to mark his place. "Yeah, well, if she is still alive then I'm never letting her near either of us again. I won't fall for her bullshit anymore." 

Troy chuckled a little too easily at that. "She's your mom, you don't mean that.."

"I do mean it. Killing you was nothing to her. I'm not going to stand by and let her try to do it again. I'll do whatever I have to to protect us both."

With a sigh Troy reached out and grabbed hold of Nick's right hand, pulling it away from where it was holding the corner of his book. "My hero." He said with another chuckle.

Nick shook his head at that, trying not to laugh as he threaded his and Troy's fingers together. "You're definitely high. Take a nap, Troy. I'll be here when you wake up."

"Yeah. Nap sounds good.. M'tired.." Troy said sleepily as he pulled Nick's arm so their joined hands rested on his chest. 

The angle was a bit awkward for Nick, but he let Troy hold onto his hand as he fell asleep.


	8. Best Laid Plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So fun fact, Maine (where I live) is currently without power for over 360 thousand people and I'm one of them. So I am legit using my phone as a hotspot and posting this before the laptop I'm borrowing dies. We aren't expected to get power back before Wednesday so I won't be able to get the next chapter finished and up for a few days. Sorry in advanced!

The next few days go by fairly uneventfully. The group that went to raid the remains of the dam managed to get in and out before a horde of walkers arrived to swarm the place. They got the entirety of the kitchen cleared out. They also grabbed the last remaining vehicles along with fuel, clothes, weapons and tools.

Alicia regularly comes to sit with Nick and Troy in the clinic, usually bringing them their meals before Nick has a chance to go get them himself. She also has been helping Consuelo take care of the elderly members of the village when she's not helping with laundry or playing with the few kids that reside there.

Strand spent all of a day attempting to play farmer before getting bored and offering to work in the kitchen instead. Growing food wasn't to his interests, but cooking it was another story all together. He also stopped in at least once a day to visit with Nick and Troy. Troy was a bit uneasy around him at first, but that went away after the 4th day when he arrived baring a bag of gummy bears he found hidden in a bin of flour they had taken from the dam.

Troy spent the majority of those first few days asleep or loopy on pain meds while Nick read to him. 

It was the afternoon of the 5th day since Troy woke up and Consuelo had declared him well enough to switch from Oxy to Tylenol and move out of the clinic. Troy got lucky and hadn't developed an infection and was able to do most things by himself with no sign of deficits. He was given orders to come back twice a day for new bandages as the gash continued to heal, and to avoid hitting the side of his head as fractures of this nature can actually take months to heal after the pain is gone.

Nick was in the middle of sorting through the clothes the villagers had given them when Troy walked into their little hut with a fairly large cardboard box tucked under his arm.

"Hey, what've you got there?" Nick asked, pausing in his sorting to turn and face the taller man.

"Some books and games the villagers gave me. They were going on about exercising my mind, like playing monopoly will fix my brain or something." Troy said with a chuckle as he walked in and set the box on their little makeshift dining table.

The hut wasn't very big. It had room for a dresser, a bed big enough for the both of them, a bedside nightstand that housed a lamp, and a rickety table with four folding chairs. There was a window beside the door with slightly crooked shutters, and another on the right side of the hut beside the table. It wasn't necessarily cramped, but it would be if there was more than three people in it at a time.

"Monopoly? Does it have all of the pieces?" Nick asked as he closed the drawer he had been sorting the clothes into and turned to rifle through the box in search of said game.

Troy blinked at Nick in confusion. "I don't know. I didn't ask. Why?"

"We should play." Nick said as he found the game at the bottom of the box along with a dirty 1000-piece puzzle box.

"What?" Troy asked, picking up once of the books and looking at the cover before tossing it back on the table with the others.

"I said, we should play." Nick reiterated. "You've played monopoly before, right?" He asked as he set the box on the table and opened it with a flip of the lid.

"Yeah, when I was like 7 and Jake and I went to visit our aunt Esther for a week..." Troy said, scratching the side of his jaw as he remembered. "We kept fighting over who got to be the dog, so aunt Esther took the game away after a while and made us play outside with the kids that lived down the road."

Nick laughed as he went about counting everything in the box to make sure no pieces were missing. "I'm sure that went over real well."

"I punched another kid for calling me a freak." Troy said with a shrug as he sat down on one of the folding chairs.

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me." Nick said as he continued to count the fake money. "Why'd they call you a freak?" He asked, glancing at Troy before looking back to the task at hand.

"I didn't know how to play baseball. They said I was a freak because my brother knew and I didn't." Troy explained, picking up the different metal game pieces and examining them, turning them over one at a time between his fingers before setting them on the table and moving to the next one. 

"That's nuts." Nick said, finally sitting down himself before doling out the starting money. 

Troy shrugged. "I guess. I never really got the point of sports, ya'know? Everyone getting so riled up over a game. I mean, I liked watching Jake play, but I never cared who won or for the competitiveness of it all." He explained, picking up the dog piece and setting it on the 'Go' square.

Nick picked up the shoe piece and set it beside the dog. "I played soccer as a kid. I never really liked it though."

"Then why did you play?" Troy asked as he organized his fake money on his side of the table.

"It made my parent's happy." Nick said with a shrug as he handed Troy one of the dice so they could roll to see who went first.

Troy rolled a 5 and Nick rolled a 3.

"And what would have made little Nicky happy? If you could have done anything you wanted back then what would it be?" Troy asked, picking up both dice and rolling for his first turn. He rolled a total of 8 and moved his piece along the board, making it jump from square to square as he counted under his breath.

Nick snorted at that. "I don't know, man." He paused a moment, handing Troy the title card for Vermont Ave and taking his money before picking up the dice and giving them a roll. "Probably art classes, or something like that."

Troy just raised a brow at that, watching Nick move his shoe piece 3 spaces then trade his money for the title to Baltic Ave. "What kind of art?"

Nick blinked up from the game at Troy. "I liked to draw." He said simply before handing the dice over.

"What kind of things did you like to draw?" Troy asked, rolling a 3 and moving his piece again. 

"Whatever I saw. People, buildings, stuff I imagined." Nick explained, slapping Troy's hand away when he tried to grab Nick's piece to move it for him. "What about you, what did you want to do as a kid?"

"I wanted to join the science club." Troy said with a smile. "Got taken out of school before I could join though." He added, voice a bit bitter.

"Why did your parent's take you out of school anyway?"

"I didn't always know how to act in certain situations. When the school's guidance counselor suggested I go to therapy to work on my social skills big Otto got angry and dragged me out screaming that no son of his was going to a shrink." The last part was said in a mock gruff voice, Troy's face scrunched up in mock anger to go along with it.

"Seriously? How old were you?" Nick asked, his tone shocked.

"I was ten." Troy said, expression a bit blank as he looked back down at the game board.

The conversation dropped at that. Neither sure what to talk about for a bit as they continued to play.

Eventually Nick cleared his throat, glancing at Troy before looking back to his little metal shoe as he moved it along the board. "So, I was wondering, when you're well enough, what do you want to do?"

"What do you mean?" Troy asked, taking the dice and giving them a roll before moving his little metal dog.

"I mean, do you want to stay here? Or do you want to go somewhere else?" Nick clarified as he handed Troy a Chance card.

Troy hummed in thought a moment before looking at Nick. "It's alright here, but I kind of want to go back North... Maybe see if the dead have left the ranch..." He said, almost sheepishly with a tip of his head.

"We could do that." Nick said, meeting Troy's gaze. "We could even go farther if you wanted. Maybe find our own place somewhere to start over." Nick added with a shrug before dropping his gaze back to their game.

"I'd like that." Troy said, looking up at Nick with a broad smile. "What about Alicia and Strand, do you want them to tag along?"

Nick scrunched his face in concentration as he counted out some of the game money. "Sure. I mean, if you're okay with it and they wanted to come. Strand seems to like it here at the moment, but he gets bored easy. And Alicia is learning a lot from Consuelo, but I don't think she wants us to be separated again after everything that's happened."

Troy simply nodded along with what Nick was saying. After a moment of silence he spoke up. "Do you think they freeze?" 

"Who?" Nick asked, giving Troy a confused look.

"The dead? Do you think they'll freeze in the winter?"

"I don't know. Probably..."

"Want to find out." Troy asked with another grin as he looked to Nick.

Nick just smiled back, shaking his head a little. "Any particular destination in mind?"

"Washington? Aunt Esther's house is in the mountains up there. I can still remember how to get to it. My dad and I went up when I was a teenager and we installed solar panels and built a massive stone wall around the outside to make it safer when Esther said she didn't want to move to the ranch. She passed away about a year ago and the house has just been sitting there ever since. Jake was supposed to sell it, but he said we might need it someday and just told Big Otto that the asking price was too high so nobody was interested."

Nick laughed at that. "Alright. I'll pitch the idea to Strand and Alicia at dinner tonight and we can leave once Consuelo say's your fit to travel."

"Sounds like a plan." Troy agreed, rolling the dice again and laughing when he lands on Boardwalk. 

Nick groaned as he handed over the title card and took Troy's money. He was getting his ass kicked and at this rate Troy was going to own the majority of the properties before long.

By the time the game was over it was time to head to the mess hall for dinner. It was only their second night eating in there with the other residents of the village, and while Troy found it a bit overwhelming he toughed it out and stuck by Nick's side through the chow line and the chit-chat with the various villagers.

Once they sat down to eat they were joined by Alicia and Strand.

"Hey, Troy, how are you feeling?" Alicia asked as she took the seat opposite him at their little folding table.

"Better, thanks." He replied with a small smile before ducking his head and taking a bite of his sandwich.

"So," Nick started without preamble. "Troy and I were talking, and we want to head North once Consuelo says he's good to travel."

"Is that so? And where exactly would you be heading?" Strand asked, leaning forward in his seat across from Nick and resting his arms on the table. 

"Washington." Troy said simply before taking another bite of his dinner.

"And what, pray tell, is there to go to?" Strand asked again, curious but cautious.

"Troy's aunt had a house in the mountains. It was set up kind of like the ranch. Solar panels, a river to provide water, and a massive stone wall around it all. She died a year ago and Jake kept the place saying they might need it some day. We could probably make the drive in a few days if we avoid major cities and only stop long enough to sleep." Nick explained, rolling his eyes at the skeptical looks his sister and their friend were giving him. "The point is it's a place we can start over and we want to know if you want to come with us."

Strand just chuckled, shook his head and said nothing as he started to eat his dinner.

Alicia smiled at Nick and Troy. "I'll talk to Tomas and the others about what supplies they can spare after dinner."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the laptop is at 70% battery. I'm gonna try and write some more of chapter 9 before it dies on me. See you all in a few days!


	9. Awry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good news! I came home at 2am to find my power back on! *cheers*

The next morning found Troy and Nick in Consuelo's clinic. It was just after breakfast and Consuelo was checking Troy over to see how the gash on his head was healing. Troy was sat on the end of one of the cots, Nick standing beside him while the doctor stood before the two of them.

"I should be able to take the stitches out tomorrow." She said with a smile. "You'll be good to go after that. I'll mix up some more antibiotic ointment for you to take just to be safe though."

"Thanks, Doc." Troy said with an easy smile as he watched her turn and start to pick through a few bottles and boxes on her work table.

"You're welcome." She said as she continued to go about her business.

"So, Doc, if our plans don't work out it's cool if we come back here, right?" Nick joked as he walked over to lean on the clinics work table.

Consuelo chuckled softly at that. "I know Tomas and the others already told you that you could."

"I know, I just want to make sure you're not gonna give our hut away to the next poor bastards who come looking for help." He said with a shrug. "I'd hate to drive all the way back to find out I have to fix up another one."

Both Nick and Consuelo looked over at the sound of Troy laughing. "If we have to come back I'll build you a god damn house." He said a bit breathlessly once he got his laughter under control.

Nick grinned at that. "I'm going to hold you to that if we do."

Consuelo just rolled her eyes and turned back to her table. "You two are going to give me diabetes. Go be sappy somewhere else." She said with a dismissive wave of her hands.

Nick snorted a laugh as he pushed away from the table to walk out of the clinic with Troy, who was already standing at the door with it held open for the both of them. "Don't act like you don't gossip with the little old ladies in the village about us when you're out doing your rounds. I've heard them talking about us like we're their own personal telenovela."

"I plead the fifth." Consuelo shouted over her shoulder as the two left the clinic.

"Do they really talk about us?" Troy asked once they were a few feet away from the clinic.

Nick glanced over at Troy, the two of them walking side by side as they headed around back to the mess hall to help with the post-breakfast cleanup. "They have a betting pool going on when we'll kiss in public." Nick said with a smirk.

Troy rolled his eyes before putting an arm around Nick's shoulder and pulling him flush against his side. "If I were to kissed you right now, do you know who would win?" He asked in a hushed tone, a mischievous smirk spreading over his lips.

"Well..." Nick said, stretching the word and looking around quickly to see who might be watching them. Mrs. Rodrigez was in the rocking chair outside of her hut pretending to read a book, her gaze kept flicking up to them every few seconds. She didn't speak English, so she definitely didn’t know what they were talking about. A few other villagers were out and about, but no one else was watching them at the moment. "If I heard correctly, then it would be George's grandmother, Elenore."

"Hmm.. She seems nice. What does she get if she wins?" Troy asked, coming around so both his arms dangled over Nick's shoulders now. Troy pulled him a bit closer and Nick wrapped his arms around Troy's waist in turn.

"A bottle of tequila." Nick said with a shake of his head, smiling at Troy's antics. 

Troy leaned in, letting his forehead rest against Nick's as he looked him in the eyes. "What do you think, should we help her win? Give them something to gossip about?" He asked with a wink.

Nick just laughed then closed the distance between the two of them. It wasn't their first kiss, that had happened a few nights ago when they were alone in the clinic, but it still excited him like it was the first time all over again. Troy's lips were warm and just a little chapped against his own. 

After a long moment they broke apart, Troy letting his forehead rest against Nick's again.

A moment later Nick opened his eyes to find Troy wearing a smile that mirrored his own.

"I wonder how long it'll take for everyone to hear." Troy mused as he stepped back, letting his arms slide from around Nick's neck and fall back to his own sides.

"I'd say half an hour. But if you want to time it I'll keep an ear out." Nick offered, turning to continue on to the mess hall. As he went he noted Mrs. Rodrigez getting up from her rocker and heading off in the direction of the little garden some of the other elderly members of the village liked to tend to.

Troy followed him with a laugh, checking the time on his watch as he went. "Hey, do you mind if I skip out on clean up?" He asked when they reached the door to the mess hall.

Nick turned to face Troy, blinking up at him. "Sure. Everything alright?"

Troy nodded. "Just got a bit of a headache starting. I think I'm gonna go lay down for a while." He said, scratching the back of his head and looking towards their hut.

"Okay. You want me to come wake you up when I'm done here?" He asked, nodding his head in the direction of the mess hall as he spoke.

"Sure." Troy said with a small nod before ducking his head and giving Nick a quick kiss on the lips before turning and walking away with a wicked smile.

Nick heaved a put upon sigh and shook his head as he watched Troy go. After a moment he opened the door of the mess hall and headed in to the back to help clean up.

Not long into helping Alicia, Jorge and Tomas wash dishes Strand burst into the back room of the mess hall like a man on a mission . "We've got a problem." He said as he closed the door behind him.

"What is it?" Nick asked, dropping the plate he was cleaning back into the tub and turned to face Strand. Everyone else followed suit, turning to face the man who was now pacing back and forth rapidly.

"Madison is here." Strand said, face stone serious.

"Who's Madison?" Asked Jorge as he looked from Strand to Alicia and Nick.

Alicia looked to the teenager, answering for her brother who was frozen with a look of horror on his face. "Our mom."

Both Jorge and Tomas traded confused looks.

"I take it her being here isn't a good thing." Tomas said after a beat before grabbing a towel and drying his hands.

Alicia shook her head. "She's the one who tried to kill Troy."

Nick snapped out of his haze at Alicia's words. "I need to get him out of here." He said as he started towards the door.

Strand grabbed Nick by his shoulders, keeping the younger man from running out the door. "Nicholas, listen to me. If you run out there right now she will undoubtedly see you. I was with Consuelo when I spotted her coming, she's going to try and convince Madison that you aren't here if she asks, alright. Just take a breath and try to get it together before you do something rash."

Nick blinked up at Strand, hearing him but also not. Troy was laying down in their hut. Their hut that was only a few dozen feet away from the clinic and if he were to move past the window or god forbid leave to take a piss he would be dead. No way Madison would see him and not try to finish the job.

"Troy's in our hut. If he comes out when she's in the middle of the village talking to Consuelo he's as good as dead." Nick said as he shrugged Strands hands off of him. He tried to push past the older man and found himself being grabbed not only by him but Alicia as well; both of them wrapping their arms around his torso and arms to hold him still.

"Nick, you said yourself that Troy was going to take a nap, right? So, he's probably already asleep and has no idea what's going on. We just have to wait for Consuelo to send her away." Alicia said into her brother's ear, trying to placate him.

Nick shook his head, trying to pull away from the people holding him tightly. "What if she doesn't go. What if she tries to stay and they can't talk her out of it."

"Then I'll go out and get rid of her." Alicia said resolutely.

"That's crazy! If she sees you she'll want you to come with her." Nick argued, looking at Alicia in abject horror.

"No, she won't. If I tell her I don't want to go with her she'll leave me. She doesn't care about me the same way she does about you. If I tell her you went East she'll go without hesitation. Especially if she think's I'll be waiting here for her to come back."

"You would do that? After everything that's happened with me and Troy? After we got Jake killed, you would go out there and do that?" Nick asked, eyes wide in disbelief.

"Jake and I were doomed from the start. You and Troy don't have to be." Alicia said simply as she let go of a no longer struggling Nick.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Tomas piped in.

"Can you box up those supplies we talked about? I have a feeling we're going to be leaving earlier than originally expected." Strand said, finally releasing his own grip on Nick.

"Of course." He said, nodding to the three. "Jorge, go find Tyler and Jeff and ask them to start loading Nick's van and Victor's truck with water and fuel. Tell them if they have any questions to come find me." Tomas ordered as he went about grabbing various cans and bottles from shelves and started to put them in a large rubber tote that was sat on the floor by the back door.

Jorge nodded before rushing out the door, slamming it loudly behind him in his haste.

Nick dropped to the floor, sitting with his knees pulled up and his back to the tub-turned-dish-sink. He brought his hands up to run through his shaggy brow hair. "We're so screwed..." He muttered to himself.

"It's going to be fine, Nick. We'll find a way around all of this." Alicia said kneeling beside her brother and putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah..." Nick said, shaking his head a bit. " Okay, I'm good now..." He pushed himself to stand again and going over to help Tomas sort out some more canned goods for them to take. 

Alicia went back to washes dishes, unsure what else to do.

Strand walked over to the door and cleared his throat. "I'm going to go do a bit of recon. See if Madison and Consuelo are still in the village center or if they've gone somewhere else to talk." With that he slipped out the door before anyone could protest.

As Strand peered around the corner of the clinic he spotted Madison and Consuelo standing beside the old well nestled in the center of the little horseshoe shaped village. Consuelo had walked around so Madison was facing back towards the direction she came from and away from the general direction of the clinic and the hut Nick and Troy shared.

"Look, I know your people went to the dam, I saw those vehicles there myself a few days ago. I just want to know if you've seen my kids. My oldest, Nick, is a little taller than me with stringy brown hair. His sister is my height with brown hair that turns blonde about halfway down. She was with an older gentleman, black, with a beard, goes by the name Strand." Madison explained.

"Like I said before, we haven't had anyone pass through the village in a while. We have those vehicles because we heard the explosion and a few people went to investigate." Consuelo explained, crossing her arms over her chest and staring down Madison.

"Can I at least ask around, maybe someone saw them along the river when collecting water over the last few days?" Madison pleaded, throwing her arms out to gesture to the people milling about their own business around the village. 

Strand watched, the two continue to bicker before slipping back around the clinic to get Alicia. It looked like Madison wasn't going to be satisfied until she was sure no one here had seen them.

Giving a quick knock, he let himself back in through the mess halls back door. Alicia was washing dishes, Nick and Tomas had finished filling the rubber tote with supplies and were discussing a backup plan to help them escape at nightfall if they have to.

"She's not leaving until she speaks to everyone in the village, we need to go with plan B." Strand said as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

Alicia grabbed an old towel and quickly dried her hands. "Alright." She said with a nod. "I'll take her to my hut to talk. That should give you enough time to get to Troy. Once she's gone I'll come get you both."

Nick nodded his understand before wrapping an arm around Alicia's neck and pulling her into a tight hug. "Good luck." He said before letting her go.

With that Alicia was out the door, Strand hot on her heels.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I am honestly surprised no one questioned the title of the last chapter. It's from a quote "The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry"  
> Anyway I hope you enjoyed the chapter :D  
> I should have the next on up on Friday evening at the latest. I get to train the trainee from hell again tonight so don't know how much writing I'll get done.  
> Also for those who don't know what a telenovela is, it's a Spanish soap opera.


	10. In The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I wanted to get this up last night, but I had a rough couple of days and wasn't able to get it written in time. So here it is! I'm uploading it from my phone so I'm sorry if there are some screw ups. I'll fix them when I can get on a laptop in the morning. Enjoy!

"What are you doing?" Alicia asked, eyeing Strand as he walked with her.

"Insurance, she'll be more inclined to leave you if I'm here to keep an eye." He said with a smirk.

A moment later the two of them rounded the corner of the clinic to find Consuelo and Madison still arguing.

"Mom!" Alicia called, breaking into a run once they were clear of the row of buildings.

Madison turned, shock evident on her face as she threw her arms open and hugged her daughter. "Alicia!" After a beat she turned her head to face Consuelo. "What the hell is this! Why did you lie about them being here!?!?!" She demanded.

"Madison." Strand said, tone chiding.

"I asked her and the other villagers to lie if anyone came looking for us. Proctor John and the others are still out there and they want us all dead, mom." Alicia said, pulling away from her mother to give her a hard look. "I told Consuelo and the others what happened at the dam and they offered to help." She lied.

"You asked her to lie? Even to me! I'm your mother!" Madison practically yelled, anger written clearly on her face.

"We thought you were dead, Madison. We searched the river for you for hours once the waters calmed down. There was no sign of you anywhere." Strand said, voice calm.

"What about Nick? Did you find him? Is he here?" Madison asked, seeming to believe Alicia and Strand.

"He was here the morning we arrived. He stayed a few days then went East." Strand explained.

"And you just let him?" Madison asked incredulously.

"He's an adult mom, he can do what he wants." Alicia argued.

"He tried to kill himself not even a week ago and you just left him leave! What the hell is wrong with the two of you!" Madison yelled, temper slipping further.

"I told you I'm not going to put up with his bullshit anymore! If he wants to kill himself then fine! I lost Jake because of him, I'm done trying to save him!" Alicia yelled back, getting right in her mom's face.

"Ladies, please. Perhaps we should talk about this somewhere less public? People are staring." Strand interjected, cautiously putting an arm between Madison and Alicia to make them both step back away from one another.

With a huff Alicia crossed her arms and looked away from her mother. "My shack's this way." She said, turning and walking to where said shack was set back by the little farm at the back of the village.

After a beat Madison followed her daughter, Strand following as well after shooting Consuelo a wink and pointing towards the mess hall.

Once they were gone Consuelo made her way over to the mess hall. Right as she walked through the door she nearly smacked into Nick.

"Hey, is she gone? Did Alicia have to talk to her?" Nick asked, looking over Consuelo's shoulder to see if anyone was behind her.

"Alicia took her to her hut to talk in private, Strand went with them. Come on, let's get you to Troy." Consuelo said, wrapping an arm around Nick's shoulder and leading him around the back of the few huts that sat between the mess hall and his own.

Nick waited at the back corner of the hut a moment, letting Consuelo walk ahead to check that the coast was clear. She waved a hand over her shoulder and with that Nick was running around and opening the door of the hut.

Once he was inside he found Troy curled up on his right side facing the wall. His shoes were off and he was hugging Nicks pillow to his chest as he snored lightly.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Nick came and sat on the edge of the bed. He placed a hand on Troy's shoulder, shaking him lightly. "Hey, Troy, wake up."

Troy groaned and curled into a tighter ball on the bed. "I just fell back to sleep..." He whined.

"I know, but we have a problem. My mom is here."

"What?" Troy asked, uncoiling and rolling onto his back to blink up at Nick with bleary eyes. "How did she find us?"

"I don't know. She was going to go around asking the whole village if they'd seen us so Alicia is trying to convince her I left and went East. Some of the villagers are getting things ready for us to leave as soon as she's gone. So, we need to be ready." Nick explained as he stood and turned to start pulling clothes out of their little dresser and throwing them into the cardboard box Troy had brought in the day before.

"What if she won't leave?" Troy asked, sitting up now and rubbing at his eyes, taking care not to hit the bruise that still surrounded most of his left one.

"Then we'll wait for it to get dark and sneak out." Nick said as he threw his jacket on. "I talked to Tomas, he said he'd create a distraction if we need him to. We just need to bide our time for now."

Troy nodded his understand as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and let his feet come to rest on the floor. "What about supplies?"

"Tomas and I boxed up a week's worth of food for us all and he's going to bring it over to the van in a bit. Tyler and Jeff are supposed to be loading it up with gas and water now." Nick explained, folding the last few articles of clothes and tossing them in with the few books, puzzle and monopoly game that were already in it.

After watching a moment Troy got up and stepped behind Nick where he stood at the table, hands buried in the box still. "Okay." He said as he wrapped his arms around Nick's waist and leaned against the shorter man so his chin rested on his shoulder.

Nick heaved a sigh and leaned back into Troy. "One day. If she had showed up one day later we would have been gone and none of this would be happening."

Troy tightened his hold a moment, giving Nick a reassuring squeeze. "Yeah, well, that’s our luck." Tory said with a chuckle. "It's gonna be okay. That woman would go to the ends of the earth to find you. If she thinks you went East she's not gonna hesitate to follow."

"I guess..." Nick conceded. "You're handling this really well considering she tried to kill you a week ago..."

Troy shrugged "Hard to get worked up over something when you don't remember it. Anyway, we're still safe for now. She doesn't know I'm alive or that you're here, so we just have to lay low and wait for our chance.”

Nick nodded at that. "In that case, you want to play monopoly while we wait for an update?" He asked, turning his head to grin at Troy.

Troy smiled back. "I'll be the banker this time." He said as he released his hold on Nick and moved to take a seat at their little table.

Nick just rolled his eyes as he pulled the game from the box of belongings and began to set up the board.

~

Across the village Strand was sat on Alicia's bed while she and Madison sat at her own little table. Madison had her arms crossed over her chest, a look of annoyance on her face that mirrored the one Alicia wore as she stared at her mother.

"So, did Nick say where he was going?" Madison asked, tone still a bit sharp with anger.

"He just said East. I think he was going to look for Luciana." Alicia said, rolling her eyes like she could care less for this line of questioning.

Madison heaved a long-suffering sigh and relaxed in her seat a bit. "She was going to Mexicali when she left the ranch. She should be there by now if she made it." After a moment she cracked a smile. "You said he left a few day's go, right? Was he walking or did he take a vehicle?"

"He took a truck." Strand supplied. "The villagers gave him enough supplies for a week or so and a few cans of gas. If that’s where he was headed he’s probably made it there by now.”

"That was very generous of them." Madison said, tone suspicious.

"When word spread that Nick was the one to blow up the dam the people here were very grateful. They saw it as the least they could do given the circumstances." Strand said as he crossed one leg over the other and scratched at is beard a bit.

"So why didn't you go with him?" Madison asked, turning in her seat a bit to better face Strand.

Strand smiled at that. "He didn't ask. Also, I was unaware of his decision to leave until after the fact. Alicia told me of his departure a few hours later when I asked where Nick was at lunch."

Madison nodded her understanding. "Alright. Do you think these people would give the two of you a vehicle if you asked?"

Alicia gaped at her mother for a moment. "I'm not going after him, mom. If you want to that's fine, but I'm staying here."

"Alicia, don't start-" Madison began, posture becoming tense again as she leaned forward in her seat.

"No, mom! I'm done chasing after Nick. If you want to go looking for him you are more than welcome to, but I'm staying here." She said resolutely, her face set in a hard mask of defiance.

"Madison, might I suggest a compromise?" Strand interjected.

Madison just raised a brow at the older man, waiting for him to continue.

"Alicia has found a purpose here. She's working with Consuelo in the clinic and help's take care of the elderly members of the village. She's not going anywhere, I think it's safe to say you can go in search of Nick and come back here once you know he's alright." Strand suggested.

Madison considered his words a moment before nodding. "Alright. What about you? Are you going to stay here too?" She asked.

Strand smiled. "I promised Mrs. Rodriguez I would play checkers with her after dinner tonight. Also, I've been given a job helping cook for those who don't have stoves in their homes. It's not a bad arraignment." He said easily, leaning back against the wall behind Alicia's bed as he explained.

After a moment Madison sighed and moved to stand. "Fine. I don't suppose you have enough pull with these people to get them to lend me a vehicle?"

Alicia and Strand traded questioning looks a moment before Alicia moved to stand as well. "I think we can manage that. I'll go talk to Consuelo and Tomas." She said before moving past her mother and heading out the door.

Once they were alone Madison looked over at Strand. "Be honest with me, is everything alright here? How did Nick seem before he left?"

Strand quirked a brow at Madison then patted the space beside him on Alicia's bed, inviting her to come sit. She did, scooting back so her back was to the wall beside Strand's. Once there, Strand put an arm around her and pulled her close. "Everything's fine. Alicia likes it here. As for Nick, he was a little off at first, but he was good the last time I saw him. He's a resourceful young man, wherever he is I have no doubt that he's thriving."

Madison let her head rest on Strands shoulder as she listened to him. "I hope so." She said with a sigh. "So, they have you working as a cook, huh?"

Strand let out a soft chuckle at that. "I tried farming first. Wasn't to my liking."

~

Alicia made her way over to the mess hall, where she found Consuelo and Tomas inside talking to a few other villagers.

"I convinced my mom that Nick when East and that she should go after him alone. I need a truck for her." Alicia explained, cutting into their conversation as entered the room.

Tomas raised an eyebrow at that. "What's to stop her from keeping it when she comes back from looking for Nick and find's the rest of you gone?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'm sure you'll find a way to stop her from taking it when that happens." Alicia said, looking from Tomas to Consuelo. "It's still early so I think if we get a truck ready now she'll be willing to leave right away."

Consuelo and the others nodded their agreement. "Alright, get a truck ready for her. I'll go update Nick and Troy." She said before turning to leave the mess hall.

There was some grumbling from others in the room but Tomas hushed them quickly. "If it weren't for these people we wouldn't have any of these vehicles or the supplies from the dam. Don't argue."

~

Consuelo knocked gently on the door of Nick and Troy's hut before letting herself in.

The two younger men were sat at their little table, monopoly board out and fake money and property cards strewn about the space.

"Hey, what’s going on? Is she leaving?" Nick asked as he turned in his seat to face the doctor.

"Alicia convinced her to go. We're getting a truck ready for her now. Do you two need anything? I'm not sure how long it'll take for her to head out." She said, turning to take a look out into the village center where people were still milling about like everything was normal.

Troy hummed in thought, shaking his head no before looking back to the game at hand.

"I think we're good for now." Nick said. "Unless there's anything you think we can do?"

Consuelo shook her head. "Just hangout here for now. I don't know how long it'll take for her to leave, but one of us will come get you once she's gone."

Both Nick and Troy nodded their understanding and then watched Consuelo leave.

"What do you want to do after we finish this game?" Nick asked Troy.

Troy snorted. "Take a nap. My last one was cut short." He snarked.

Nick laughed and took the dice from Troy's hands. "How about we take a nap now and we can pick this back up after."

Troy raised a brow at that. "We, huh?"

Nick just grinned. "We've got a lot of driving ahead of us. I might as well get some rest now while I can." He said with a shrug before standing, kicking his shoes off beside Troy's and going to flop down onto their bed. A moment later Troy joined him and they curled up together to attempt to get some rest.

~

Alicia parked the truck beside the old barn not far from her shack. Once the engine was off she climbed out and walked the short distance to where Strand and Madison waited.

"That was fast." Madison said, expression a bit hard to read as he walked forward to meet her daughter.

"Yeah, well, they trust me, though I had to promise you would bring it back after you find Nick." Alicia explained as she handed the keys to her mom. "Are you going to go after him now or are you going to stick around for a bit?"

Madison pocketed the keys before turning to look around a bit. "Think I could get lunch with my daughter before I go?"

"Yeah, of course." Alicia said, shooting Strand a look. "Could you go get us all something from the mess hall?"

Strand gave a quick nod before turning on his heel and heading off without a word.

Once he was gone Madison looked to Alicia. "Licia, is everything really alright here?"

Alicia gave her mom a put-upon look. "Mom, I swear, things here are good. I want to stay and learn medicine from Consuelo."

"And that's all?" Madison questioned, taking a step closer to her daughter.

"Yes, mom, that's all. No one's making me stay here. This isn't like what happened with the Proctors. I didn't wander in and get sucked into helping someone that won't let me leave. If that were the case they wouldn't have left us alone together, and they definitely wouldn't have trusted me with a truck. You know I wanted to go pre-med at Berkeley! Why is it so hard for you to believe I want to learn medicine from a real doctor while I have the chance?" Alicia started out fairly calm, her tone slowly growing more upset as she went.

With a sigh Madison pulled Alicia into a hug. "Alright, honey, I get it."

Alicia hugged her back after a moment's hesitation. "Can we go back inside now. Some of the farmers are watching and the people in this village are all gossips."

Madison laughed before letting her go. "Yeah, let's go."

~

Nick and Troy were awoken by Alicia letting herself into their hut. She had two bowls of chili with some tortillas on a tray she carried one handed as she let herself in. "Hey guys, time to wake up." She said upon seeing the two of them curled up in bed.

"What time is it?" Nick asked, squinting over at Alicia from his place between Troy and the wall.

Troy groaned and raised his arm to squint at his wristwatch. "1:47." He mumbled before forcing himself up to a sitting position.

"Mom just left." Alicia said as she closed the door behind her and set their lunch on the table beside the forgotten monopoly game."

Do you guys want to leave this afternoon or wait until tomorrow morning?" She asked as he picked up the shoe piece Nick had been using and gave it a thoughtful look before putting it back on the board.

Troy pushed himself to stand, giving Nick nick room to move to sit once he was off the bed.

Nick scratched the back of his head as he watched Troy take a seat at the table and grab one of the bowls. "Probably should leave sooner rather than later to be safe."

"Are you and Strand still coming with us?" Troy asked before taking a bite of his lunch.

"That's the plan. I'm thinking I might come back once things are settled up in Washington, though. I want to study medicine with Consuelo for a while, but I don't want to be here when mom comes back." Alicia admitted almost shyly as she took a seat.

Nick traded looks with Troy as he came to sit at the table as well. "Okay." He said as he grabbed his own lunch.

"You're way more chill about this than I was expecting. You're not high, are you?" Alicia asked, cracking a smile when Nick rolled his eyes and Troy chuckled.

"Nope, definitely not high. If I was, Troy would probably kick my ass." Nick said around a spoonful of chili.

"Probably." Troy parroted as he ripped a piece of tortilla up and dipped it into his chili. 

Nick laughed. "Anyway, if you guys are ready to go then we are."

Alicia nodded and moved to stand. "Okay. I'll go get Strand and we'll bring the vehicles around." With that she turned and left.

"You sure you're ready to go?" Troy asked once she was gone.

Nick blinked up from his meal at him. "Yeah. We just need to pack up the monopoly board and we're good to go." He said before going back to eating his food.

Troy smirked. "Not too late to change your mind here, Nicky. If you want to stay with your family I'll understand." He said as he ducked his head and took another bit of his lunch, avoiding eye contact.

"If I wanted to ditch you I would have already." Nick said, pointing at Troy with his spoon. "Now eat your lunch and quit trying to get rid of me." Nick teased.

Troy just rolled his eyes. "You, are a terrible boyfriend. So bossy." He complained, tone amused.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm a real asshole. We both are. That's part of the reason we work." Nick said with a chuckle.

After that they ate in silence, the only thing disrupting them being the sound of the van and truck coming to stop outside of the small hut.

A moment after the engines cut Alicia was letting herself back in. "You guys almost done?" She asked as she poked her head around the door and eyed the two of them.

"Mmm! Yeah." Nick said, mouth half full as he finished off his last bite of chili. "Just need to get this box out to the van and get our feet dressed." He explained as he started to box the monopoly game back up.

Troy pushed his empty bowl away and turned to grab his discarded shoes. "I have the rout to the house memorized, but we're going to need to take back roads for a lot of the trek to avoid cities and herds of the dead." He explained to Nick and Alicia as he went about getting his feet dressed.

"Alright." Alicia said as she stepped fully into the doorway. "We have a barrel of gas so hopefully that’s enough to get us there."

Nick nodded his agreement as he finished putting the game away and began to work on putting on his own shoes. "If not, we can find cars to siphon gas from." He said with a shrug.

Alicia stepped in then and grabbed the box containing their clothes and other belongings. "Sounds good. I'll be in the truck with Strand when you guys are ready."

Nick watched her walk out as he finished up with his shoes. "Ready?” He asked Troy once he was done and standing.

Troy smiled and nodded. "Ready."

Once they were outside they found Consuelo, Tomas, Jorge and several other villagers waiting for them.

"We wanted to wish you a safe journey." Tomas said as he stepped forward and held out his hand to be shook.

Nick grinned as he shook the older man's hand. "Thanks, for everything. I wouldn't have my family back if it weren't for all of your help." He said earnestly.

Tomas grinned as he let Nick's hand go and moved to shake Troy's. "You're welcome. Remember, you're always welcome here."  
Both Nick and Troy nodded.

Next Consuelo pulled Nick into a tight hug. "You take care of each other, okay? Alicia told me she wants to come back eventually and if I find out either if you dropped the ball I'm gonna kick your asses."

Nick laughed at that, returning the hug wholeheartedly. "Thanks for the concern." He said with a smirk as he pulled back.

Troy looked a little throw when Consuelo hugged him as well, Nick tried not to laugh at the deer-in-the-headlights look he had as she let him go. "Take care." She said warmly.

The others that were gathered said their goodbyes and with that Nick and Troy climbed into the van and the lot of them drove off.

As their mini caravan approached the river they spotted a truck ahead. It was parked sideways across the dirt road, doors both flung open and clothes and supplies strewn on the ground like it had been raided.

Nick and Troy traded suspicious glances before coming to a stop about 20 feet away. He waited for Alicia to pull along side them and rolled down the window.

"That's the truck we gave Madison." Strand said as he climbed out of the passenger side of the truck, he had a gun in his hand and he looked almost worried.

The lot of them exited their vehicles with the exception of Troy, each carrying a weapon as they slowly walked over to the abandoned truck.

Nick was the first one to round the vehicle, stepping around the front bumper as Strand was making his way around the back. The instant he stepped around he regretted it.

Madison stood from her position crouched beside the front tire, a gun in her hand and her expression utterly confused. "Nick? What the hell!" A moment later she saw Alicia and Strand. "I knew you were lying! What is this?" She demanded.

"What is this?" Nick asked incredulously. "THIS, Mom! Is us leaving you." Nick said angrily, gesturing between himself and Alicia. 

"After everything I've done for you, you were seriously going to just up and leave me?" Madison asked, anger written all over her face as she took a step towards her son.

"Everything you've done has gone to shit, mom! Every time you try to protect us you make things worse! Just let us go! We don't want your help anymore." Nick said, taking a step back at Madison's advance.

"How dare you!" She spat. "And you, what about the speech you gave on how you were done with your brother?" She asked as she turned to face Alicia, who was stood at the tail-gate of the truck beside Strand.

"Oh, I am done. If he wants to wander off again and get himself killed that's his business, but at least with him I know where I stand." Alicia said, crossing her arms over her chest and staring down her mother.

Madison's jaw dropped at that. "Licia..."  
"No, mom, don't even try to pull any of your bullshit on me." Alicia cut her off. "Just get in your truck and go. We don't want your help anymore."

Madison went from shocked right back to angry. "I'm your mother! You can't treat me like this." She yelled.

A moment later the sound of a car door drew everyone's attention over to the van, where Troy now stood. The door was open and he stood behind it, using It as a barrier between himself and the group that stood 20 feet away.

"Madison." He said, voice shaky, like he was afraid. His eyes were wide and he had one hand gripped the top of the door tightly, the other was obscured by the metal door before him.

Nick looked from Troy to Madison, who's eyes had gone wide and her mouth hung open as she took in the sight of a very alive Troy Otto. His face was still bruised, the slowly healing gash obvious on the side of his face, especially with the stitches still in place.

A moment later Madison was raising her gun and Nick jumped. He hit Madison's wrists, the force of the blow making her hands spasm and the gun fall to the ground. Before he knew what he was doing Nick had his arms around her and was holding her so her arms were pinned at her sides. "No!" He shouted.

"WHAT THE HELL!" Madison yelled. "How is he alive?" She demanded, struggling against Nick's hold.

In a blink Strand was there, picking up Madison's discarded gun and Alicia was running over to a visibly shaken and frightened Troy.

"I went back for him." Nick said, all of the anger he felt before bubbling back back up with a vengeance. "I went back for him and he was alive and the villagers saved him!" He seethed into her ear. "And now we are going to leave you like you made me leave him." Nick said, pushing Madison to the ground before turning and taking the keys from the ignition of the truck and throwing them off into the desert.

"You're choosing him over me? All of you!?!?" Madison asked from where she sat on the ground.

Strand said nothing as he walked back to the truck he and Alicia were sharing and climbed back behind the wheel. Alicia was standing with Troy, a hand on his shoulder as she tried to help him calm down. He looked terrified, his eyes not leaving Madison for even a second.

"No, mom, we're choosing ourselves." Nick said before turning to walk way.

"This is really how it's gonna be, Nick?" She asked, watching her family climb into their respective vehicles and prepare to leave.

"Yeah, mom, this is how it's gonna be." Nick said before climbing behind the wheel and driving away.

Once they were moving again Nick reached out and grabbed hold of Troy's hand where it sat in a fist on his knee. He threaded their fingers together once Troy let his grip relax and smiled over at the taller man. "It's going to be alright." He said.

"I know." Troy said with a small smile. He still looked shaken, but he just squeezed Nicks hand and let his eyes slip closed as they drove along. Thing's may not have gone as planned, but they were together and safe and that's all that mattered in the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, who wants a sequel story consisting of a road trip and some domestic fluff? (Possibly some smut too if I feel inspired) ;)

**Author's Note:**

> So? Thoughts? Questions? Comments?
> 
> Like my work? Swing by [My Tumblr](https://meteora-writes.tumblr.com/ask) with a request/prompt?  
> Wanna know what I'm writing next? Check out my [Writing Queue](https://meteora-writes.tumblr.com/Queue)


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